Joan Chittister

Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, Ph.D., Co-Chair, Global Peace Initiative of Women. "Joan Chittister, OSB, has been a leading voice in contemporary spirituality and church and world issues for over 25 years. A widely published author, columnist and noted international lecturer, Sister Joan is the author of over 27 books. Her book Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope (Wm B. Eerdmans) won the Best General Interest Award for 2003 from the Association of Theological Booksellers. Three others: There is a Season, A Passion for Life and The Friendship of Women received award recognition from the Catholic Press Association.

"Sister Joan is a social psychologist and communications theorist with a doctorate from Penn State University. She is a regular columnist for the National Catholic Reporter and has published numerous articles on issues involving women in church and society, human rights, peace and justice, the Catholic Church and contemporary religious life.

"She attended the Fourth UN Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995 and The Parliament of World Religions in Cape Town, South Africa in 1999. She serves as co-chair of the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders and was a keynote speaker at their conference at the Palais des Nations (United Nations) in Geneva, Switzerland in October 2002 and in Oslo, Norway in June 2003. Their current project is facilitating peace meetings between Israeli and Palestinian women.

"Sister Joan is past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the national organization of leaders of the 75,000 Catholic religious women in the United States. She served as prioress of her own community, the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, PA for 12 years and is the founder and executive director of Benetvision. Sister Joan is also a founding member of the International Committee for the Peace Council, an inter-religious group of leaders who promote peace efforts.

"She is an elected fellow of St. Edmund's College, Cambridge University, Distinguished Alumni of Penn State University, and a member of the Niwano Peace Committee. She held the Brueggeman Chair of Ecumenical Theology for 2001 at Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH.

"Sister Joan's most recent book, Called to Question: a spiritual memoir (Sheed & Ward) was published in spring 2004."


 * National Co-Chair, Tikkun
 * Leadership of CPS's Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence Council, Center for Partnership Studies